Black Devil
by Winkaku
Summary: The shadows are alive with memories and crawling with damnation reaching for the living; when they find a way into our world, just how many shadows can you watch and are you sure that shadow is really yours?
1. hard nights rest

(A/N: I fixed it!)

It was night again, the rain fell heavily upon the roof and windows of the silent Titans Tower. The wind blew coolly past an open window in the bathroom, long bursts of howling, the shower faucet dripping methodically, loudly with an unseen certainty, echoing into the halls, the open window chilled its companion to the bone, and to him it felt wonderful.

The steam rising in steady gasps outward to be drenched with the early downpour.

Cyborg awoke to a steady annoying drip coming from that very bathroom.

"Man I thought I fixed that leak…"

Groggily and slowly he stood up, swinging tired legs to the side of his steel bed, letting them droop to the floor. Even for a man with cybernetic enhancements, the dreary days could still make him tired, odd.

Steadily he stepped forward, seemingly in slow motion.

Through the dark halls, the damp carpeting stuck to him as badly as the morning air, the kind of air that made you hack and spit, tainted with city smog at a horrid level, disgustingly thick.

That feeling was only enhanced by a sick smell of something horrible, metallic like copper with a hint of chamomile and cinnamon; this caused him to start up a small cough, easily stifled with a good effort.

"Ack, God what the hell is that?"

From the source of that petulant drip came a small glow, the horrid stench, biting at his nostrils and burning his eyes had its origin there and was accompanied by what seemed to be a low quiet murmuring.

"well old friend...may you be given bread and wine..."

The speaker of these words was unknown to him, stiff and dull, with a strange charisma to it. Thus instinct began to take over and he raced to the door and its strange glow, the smell once again became over powering, strengthening with his approach.

"...May you be given mutton and fowl, clothing and herbs and everything good and full in death as you were in life... bastard"

With a resolute slam the door flung open and a flood of solemn glow assaulted him. A modest row of tiny candles sat quietly, beaming flames flaring up in the sudden wind. Small traces of dim light revealed smoldering pieces of burnt cinnamon held neatly on an old plate, the copper smell came out from the candles and a decent sized mug of tea sat with it on the countertop.

The open window dripped with condensation and rain, the tiles were thoroughly covered in a thick sheen of water and the air itself was the thickest, heavy and laden with the afore mentioned herbs and spices. Despite the smell, once adjusted, it proved extremely relaxing, numbing his senses as his tensed muscles spread out, a strong feel of sleep threatened to overtake him.

There in the bathtubs shallow dirty water sat Robin, loud waters dripping onto his head from the shower head and falling from his hair.

Per usual his face gave no hint of emotion and yet at the same time it seemed to scream,

_What the hell are you doing here?_

His body was slender, true to his constant outlook, but what caught Cyborg, was the numerous scars that littered his fair, lightly tanned skin, covering his shoulders and snaking down his back. The small ridges of his spine showed through and his finely toned muscles put forth his compact and yet robust shape. His raven hair fell over him, across his face and resting by the nape of his neck, slathered in thick water.

He looked entirely like a man who had to be twice his age, for one so young, it was incredible, almost impossible to look that way, as if he'd seen so much.

Through all that what shocked him to the bones, through steel and flesh and to the very core, was that his mask was off.

Cyborg could see his eyes, and what gorgeous eyes they were.

Strong, bold, shadowy eyes with thin lines of soreness and a clouded look to them. They showed a glinting sapphire, with a dull hint of shimmering jade, all over thick and discolored in a long suffering pain.

Turning slowly to meet his own gaze, neck muscles visibly moving under his skin, wet hair swaying, ears twitching slightly as if to acknowledge his presence, however unwanted.

He looked almost blind.

Those same tired eyes seemed to speak out of horrors and hells unlike any others, like an old man on his deathbed, deprived of speech.

To Cyborg's numb protest, Robin began to stand, the oily water slid down his rough, rigid features in methodic drips, just as the rain outside fell, slick and soothing.

Steam rising, Robin turned around fully and reached for a towel on the counter, the pitch black of his hair streaming around like quiet rivers, reflecting silent moonlight, a quiet observer, all facing Cyborg.

Within mere seconds of having opened the door, that same door came crashing closed into his face with a huge slam to sit nicely in its frame.

Cyborg just stood there, completely numb, shocked and in many ways horridly embarrassed for his intrusion, overall a deep sense of respect and a wisp of dark lay over him, washing over him just as the thick air that clung to him once had.


	2. what are you looking at me for?

Cyborg was tired, the days had been long, per usual and it was far too early in the morning for unexpected occurrences. He had always hated early morning activity; it was annoying, disruptive and just too damn early.

Having woken to the sound of running water, what he had seen was by far not anything he would have expected. The door slammed shut only seconds after having been open, even as the disgusting smell of herbs began to settle in. It was strange and he didn't even have the chance to notice his mouth was agape, not to mention, it was early.

The thing that had forced his awed gaze was not the hieroglyphs inscribed meticulously upon Robins flesh, as much as it was his eyes.

Two solid orbs, clouded over with what seemed to be boundless age, full with something unforeseeable and yet completely lack luster without the light, drinking up what little there was and holding onto it, never letting go, shining like a new born star in the darkest, sunless skies.

Those eyes were a gorgeous blue, greater than the deepest seas or the best of cut diamonds, a small pool of gold bleeding into them from the side, speaking of agony, wisdom and unbreakable power of the spirit.

Their beauty screamed of hells untold and hypnotized him, the windows to the soul, stretching open endlessly and telling all.

To have eyes that speak of hell, to have eyes that just looked like that, so powerful that you knew he HAD seen hell, things unimaginable to others that would NEVER break his soul. Strong but supple, fiery but calm, untouchable. What no doubt could touch, that those eyes would never lie to you.

No wonder Robin kept them covered.

Cyborg never truly settled back to sleep that night; he just sat restlessly for the rest of the morning, listening to Robin throughout his early mourning routine, contemplating.

Footsteps and small grunts escaped the halls while Robin began his early morning exercises, karate, balance training and some other techniques that Cyborg remained oblivious to.

He just sat there taking it all in, staring out at nothing in particular. That is, however, until Robins footsteps reached his door.

"I'm sorry you had to see that…"

Truth be told, Cyborg was not expecting that either. He was expecting a stern reprimand, the way the boy wonder was looking at him earlier, he'd expected six feet of earth.

An hour or so passed after that little scene, BB was sitting at the game station after a hearty breakfast of tofu and was waiting for Cyborg so he could race, and to Beastboys distain, die horribly.

Raven was sitting by the table, a warm cup of herbal tea in one hand and a book in the other. Heaven only knows what she was reading; the all to reclusive Raven had very strange tastes in literature.

Starfire sat beside Raven, leaning quietly over her shoulder to get a good look at her book, a look of terror on her face. Apparently Ravens readings were a little much for the naïve little alien.

Cyborg approached somewhat nervously, then casually into the main room and took a seat next to the kitchen area table.

"DUDE! Cyborg! What is that smell?"

Another unexpected occurrence for the day, something told him it would not end there, a funny little feeling in the back of his numbed mind.

"Robin was burning herbs last night, I got a lot of it on me."

At that point Cyborg finally realized why things had been surprising him, he was really out of it.

Raven stood up and walked slowly over to him, she was swaying back and forth, wait was there two of her?

Seconds after his realization he fell, back first to the floor along with his chair, staring straight up at Robin, dressed in his white karate gi, a look of hidden concern on his face. He wanted to ask what had happened, why he felt like he wasn't there even though he knew he was, but he couldn't speak, all in all he was numb, dazed and tired.

Robin knelt down beside him, a hand on Cyborg's head, stroking it with his thumb rhythmically. It annoyed Cyborg to no end, a quick little repetitive itch that kept him awake when he wanted to sleep.

The others, now quite alarmed rushed over, throwing obstacles out of the way, dropping plates and spilling beverages; Beastboy had dropped everything and looked about ready to call 911 when Robin halted him, and for once even a normal human could tell that Raven was struggling with her emotions, her face refused to hide it this time.

At the signal Beastboy stood there watching and putting all his faith into Robin, hand sliding off of the phones receiver, Robin was after all their leader, and he wouldn't hurt Cyborg.

"Conium maculatum - Also known as Hemlock. Hemlock contains a poisonous alkaloid called Conium. Conium is a narcotic and sedative. In poisonous doses it produces loss of sensation, complete paralysis, loss of speech, and gradually slowing respiration."

He ran his hand slowly down from Cyborg's face and across his chest, contemplating, his index finger sliding over the mans cool skin and metal.

"Death then results from asphyxiation, and during this entire process the mind remains clear and unaffected."

With that Starfire flinched heavily, obviously concerned, letting lose a small gasp as if ready to pounce and just do something. Raven tensed, a strange air of authority radiated from Robin, almost as if warning them to stay away.

"He needs rest and anti toxin, I have the remedies needed for this."

With that Robin motioned to Starfire and began to lift the very dazed Cyborg up toward the medical area, only to come face to face with a very perturbed Raven.

Raven always had a good handle on her emotions, she knew the consequences of even the smallest mistake and held true to her iron grip even now. Only the most skilled of people could ever see that she was perturbed.

"How did this happen?"

Raven was gruff in response and quick to her question.

Robin never averted his gaze from her, Starfire, helpless in this little battle of wills, stood quietly.

"I was taking a small herbal bath last night, I used Hemlock as a muscle relaxer and burned cinnamon for my headache: I know it's silly but I had a friend who swore by it... Cyborg stepped in on me by accident and got a face full of it."

"You should go to the medi-lab too then, so much Hemlock could have an adverse affect on you as well."

Robin never looked away, it was unnerving how calm he was, they rarely saw him like that and all in all, they didn't like it.

"Due to Cyborg having so many mechanical features it overwhelmed his biological aspects and the remaining traces of the herbs clung to his body, further exposing him, he'd been exposed to it far longer than I."

Can't argue with that logic, let alone that man.

With that they were off to treat Cyborg for his exposure to the Hemlock and other herbs, gods only knew what.

In the medi-lab Raven was quite astonished by Robins knowledge of herbs and his ability to counteract and manipulate them, though she would never admit it.

Robin hooked Cyborg up to his charger, monitored everything, put a cool washcloth to his forehead and expertly administered treatment.

"He'll be fine, his mechanical aspects will not shut down due to the herbs, that is the most deadly effect and is essentially nullified by his body… ironic."

With a slight look of contemplation on his face he took a seat in the chair next to Cyborg and began to read.

The rest of his team wanted so many answers, even though they knew they wouldn't get any, it was all a matter of trust, and thus they slowly filtered out of the room, the air still thick with Robins deep authority.

No one asked questions yet, they would wait; the boy wonder was indeed a boy wonder.

It had only been a few hours before he began to awaken upon his medical bed, charger plugged in as he sat there.

Within this strange event he found musings, why had he slept, where was he, why did his head hurt like all hell and why the hell had he slept?

"Good morning. Or should I say, good evening?"

Ever felt like someone smacked you over the head with a sledgehammer, tied cinderblocks to your limbs and threw your body into a freezing lake?

It was way past noon and the incessant beeping and whirring of the nearby machinery was excruciating.

Cyborg for all intensive purposes had one hell of a hang over, not only that, but waking up to the "boy wonder" sitting next to him and drilling a hole through his book and Cyborg's forehead simultaneously was quite upsetting and not what he had been looking forward to, the irritating little wheeze hidden under his breath with expert care was finally noted with an aching disdain and annoyance.

"THIS is one heck of a hang over...what happened?"

Like clockwork, all of his memory was beginning to piece itself back together; the herbs, the water and those damned eyes.

All they managed in their time within the infirmary was a pathetic staring contest, eyeing each other back and forth, waiting for the silence to break.

Robin however, paid no mind to this and continued to read his book, much to the chagrin of his roommate.

"What-"

"The Art of War, by Sun Tzu" it's somewhat of a long read but its quite interesting…pretty pictures too huh."

He was nonchalant in his rather blatant attempt at diverting Cyborg's attention and seemed as if asking for something along the lines of a cease-fire, but no matter what, Cyborg was not going to make this easy for him, in fact, if he did, it would have worried Robin.

In response Robin received a near silent muttering growl and a stronger stare as he flipped to the next page in his suicidally thick leather bound book.

Silence…

If anyone had entered that room at that point the glares being exchanged would have killed them.

"I have trouble sleeping… just...old stuff…"

"Those things were strong enough to not only kill you, but me as well, man what aren't you telling me! Is this some kind of addiction!"

Robin's eyes grew a little wider from the look of his mask, just barely, as if Cyborg had suddenly sprouted a second head, but he also looked suspiciously as if he was ready to burst out laughing.

A well-hidden and complex expression that wasn't easy to make out, as if he had expected that question and found it too ridiculous to be suggested, a small amusement.

"No, besides, we have more important things to do than-"

Cutting Robin off from ending his sentence, the towers alarm system suddenly began blaring out loudly, the red lights flashed madly and Cyborg was forced to clasp his hands over his ears, a vain attempt to halt the offending noise burning his ears and the nauseating effects of the swirling lights, almost losing himself to another sickening vertigo.

Robin waltzed slowly up to the control panel and turned off the alarm system as Raven and Starfire entered the room, closely followed by a disgruntled Beastboy.

"Friend! You have awakened!"

Starfire quickly made a b-line for Cyborg who now steeled himself for a heavy blow. She floated gently beside him now, only inches from knocking into him, she knew well from her experience with Robin, that if one is ill or injured it is best not to squeeze the life out of them the instant they recover.

Cyborg began to ease up from his shielded position and Starfire stood pleadingly beside him as the alarm fell silent.

"What's the trouble?" Raven said, no trace of interest, just her same deadpan voice as per usual, all the while she stared down at Robin, in a futile attempt to straighten out the earlier incidents and read into his strange behavior.

Attempting to read Robins actions was hard enough, but to attempt to read his thoughts was like trying to read a brick wall.

The cracks in the cement don't tell you its age and distracting falsehoods written by the unknown lingered, you never really knew what was supposed to be there, what was new or old or even why it was there in the first place.

Trying to bring anything out of it was as useful as talking to it; all in all you got nothing but dust, scratches and a headache.

You were better off trying to teach your cat to sit; attempting to break a block of titanium the size of your desk with your forehead would be easier and less painful, it's damn near impossible and one wouldn't be surprised if it was.

Not that Raven would ever invade his privacy like that anyway.

"…"

"What is it Robin…?"

A simple question escaped Ravens lips; for once it didn't take an expert in psychology to know something was terribly wrong. At his name he gave a small flinch and continued to look dead at the screen, if it were alive, it would have died under that gaze.

The name was that of Johnny Rancid, a young and surprisingly strong man who was well known for his rash behavior and destructive… tendencies.

There was also a list of offenses: destruction of public properties, violent behavior, reckless driving and armed assault; all of which were quite common to him, how could this cause such a reaction in Robin?

There, at the bottom of the list was the answer'

hostages were taken, a crime that he would not characteristically commit, Robin was probably already putting the pieces together and not liking what he was getting.

"Lets go… now."


	3. excessive violence is not funny

Beastboy was about to pipe up with another question or a strange quip for an attempted laugh. Humor was at times the best thing you had, it brightened you up and could even inspire hope, for that Beastboy was an angel.

He had an intuitive nature and curiosity was a healthy sign of intelligence but now was apparently not the time, thus the conviction on the ending.

They turned to leave and in their usual fashion, headed quickly out the door, each with a distinct looks on their faces, some of a slight bewilderment and some of small curiosity. Robin however only showed a deep look of hate pooling with a morbid curiosity, a face he only showed to Slade.

Cyborg was the last to go, a determined look in his eyes, Robin didn't like it either, but their leader seemed to be falling apart at the seams and piecing himself back together with every faltered move, and come hell or high water they would find out why.

To this Robin sighed and nodded his head, Cyborg now gone to the T-car, he turned back to the screen that displayed a growing list of offenses and frowned hard enough as to make the devil himself cry.

Whether it took a matter of minutes or a matter of seconds, no one could tell, but when they finally pulled up to the police barricade, the T-car screeching to a halt at an angle, Robin had been long gone. The area was a gas station; the entire building was engulfed in roaring fire that burned with an unnatural heat.

Starfire had lost track of his red motorcycle and there was no tracking signal from the beacon on his bike, all in all, this did not bode well.

"What the heck? He was just beside us and then he ditched us!"

In reply to this Beastboy received a harsh glare from Starfire.

"Robin would not abandon us when we need him, perhaps he is planning something?"

She twiddled her thumbs absent mindedly as they pulled up to the havoc that was the now burning building and thus scrambled out of the car.

Shattered glass was everywhere as evidence of a struggle, bent metal and melted rubber covered the area as the sickly unstable building was stripped bare, the eerie skeleton wading in the consuming inferno.

"Rancid blew up the store and Robin chased him out of the explosion toward the eastern area's! We managed to rescue all hostages but the fires are spreading and could consume the gas lines!"

It was as if they couldn't believe their ears, according to the battered police man Robin had somehow managed to get ahead of them and not only that he chased Rancid out of the building with no regard what so ever for the hostages!

However it did not take long for them to snap out of their shock induced revelry, as Cyborg took command in Robin's stead.

The fire was spreading out at the front near the pumping stations and threatened to catch ablaze as well.

Some of the stations had already begun burning, the place had been turned into a time bomb just ticking off the seconds, waiting to explode in all its fury.

All the while the fire spewed out deadly gasoline laden smog, thick and ashen, it would cause great harm in long exposure and Cyborg was NOT going back to the infirmary anytime soon.

He hated needles and had no desire to wake up staring at boy wonders pretty little mug, staring down at him with an annoyingly unreadable expression.

"Starfire! You go after Robin; Raven, Beastboy and I will get these fires under control and tend to the hostages!"

Remaining firemen began to ship out the few huddled victims in ambulances, the number of casualties was unknown and two of the survivors were in serious condition due to burns, smoke and breaks.

Robin definitely needed a very good explanation for this.

Given her order, she took flight immediately and with a steely resolve, chased persistently after Robin as the others did their best to contain the fires.

She may have been naïve at times, but when she was needed she was strong and extremely reliable, yet she always had compassion for herself and, above all, others.

This purity and beauty on its own never ceased to warm and aid the team in times of happiness and dire need.

Cyborg aided the firemen and Beastboy did his best to distribute water over the fires as well, large plumes of oil-laden smoke billowing into the air with their effort. Ravens manipulative powers came into great use, powerfully and expertly handling the flames and containing them far away from the gas lines, starving them of oxygen and holding off the smoke from her allies.

Flying as fast as possible was all she could do now, and she'd be damned if she didn't find her target.

The angle of the wind blew harsh fumes of ash-laden air from the east into his face as the hot tide of fire receded with the ever-growing distance between them.

The tires of Robins scarlet clad motorcycle screeched out loudly in protest to the sudden stop he had taken.

There, not far off in the inky black distance of the early morning night shone the sharp red aura of the perpetrators vehicle.

Johnny Rancid

To say the least, it was exactly what Robin had been expecting.

The onyx black steel of the mans huge and yet sleek motorcycle shone like oil in sharp contrast to the ruby markings that adorned it; blood on charcoal.

Black smoke spewed from the exhaust pipes as if it were a breathing beast.

Its whole body shook and writhed under the powerful engine that seemed to desire the freedom of the chase as much as the rider and it trembled with anticipation.

But why, why would the rider participate in something so... unlike him?

"Rancid, who's the contact?"

Robins stern voice was not asking this, he demanded to know and the engine of his own bike roared as if in some unspoken contest with the others.

They sat atop their bikes in stiff silence; neither spoke a word or so much as twitched without the other knowing.

The riders' breath came in swift battle lustful gasps, as if the oxygen in the dirty, sullen air around them could not quench the burning in their chests.

Small puffs of warm air dappled the breezy winds with quickly vanishing fog and smoke billowed restlessly from their bikes; both of which seemed to have taken a life of their own, borrowing the wind for their wings and refusing to calm.

"what do you want?"

Still no answer, just the subtle blinking of numerous angry red eyes along the black of the mans body...this was not good.

The entire scene portrayed itself below her hovering form, beneath a slowly flickering street lamp, stained with small traces of rust and bent with age.

The light would flicker on and then off again, as if it were indecisive, not knowing whether to stay lit or to blink out again or whether or not to blink on again at all.

On.

Off.

On.

The mechanical buzzing of the winking light halted and flowed with the light itself.

No one moved and strangely she herself could not move either, frozen stock still in the air of the challenge.

No one said a word, only their unsteady breath could be heard; no insects chirped nor birds sung.

Off.

There was a sudden loud screech of tires that made her skin crawl and forced her hands over her ears as she flew backwards, searching for any hint of Robin inside of the darkness of the empty streets.

Their engines roared with power and blew the morning frost abruptly from their bodies; the crimson red of Johnny's motorcycle pierced the darkness like so many ugly crimson jaws.

On.

Two large bikes ran full tilt at one another.

In his left hand Johnny held what seemed like a large iron pole, black as his form in the night and clutched tightly onto the handlebars with his other, leaning his whole body into the charge.

Robin held right handed onto his own trusted bo staff and stood atop the seat and front of his bike with expert balance.

He stood in an almost precarious position; feet spread apart as if in a fighting stance as he leaned fiercely into his attack, bike never failing to keep its balance.

The early morning sun came over the sides of the buildings ever so slightly.

Off.

There was a blaring crash as metal met metal and flesh was torn from bone.

A sickening crack rang out and Starfire nearly found herself screaming and the bulb of the street lamp exploded in a flurry of glass shards that sparkled like small stars in the light of the rising sun.

Starfire screamed as an iron pole zipped past her head, slicing open the air and trailing blood across the wound that had been torn through the jet stream.

The iron pipe flew into a nearby building with a loud ringing smack and clattered to the ground.

Not even the red of the other bike could cut the thick darkness.

The sunlight came full force in the quick dawning to tell the tale that the naked eye could not see.

Meanwhile, back at the gas station, things were not going so well either.

The fires that plagued the station clung to the old building with unnatural strength and refuse to relinquish their hold.

The others tirelessly worked to keep the flames at bay.

Raven had managed to keep the flames from spreading, using the shadows like a cloak and devouring the oxygen the fire longed for.

Cyborg had taken a shocked Beast Boy out from the ever-growing wreckage and together they had managed to secure the fuel lines from the fire.

Concentrating all of their energy beside the main fuel lines, they were able to avert and box in the flames and were in the process of defeating the flames with the help of the firemen.

The flames though would have the last laugh.

A huge explosion raged outward from the centre of the blazing structure and billowed outward as firemen scrambled for safety and the remaining Titans struggled to safeguard the exposed and fragile fuel lines.

Ash, pitch black smoke and flaming debris shot out of the inferno in one final, explosive blitzkrieg as everything ended in blackness.


	4. dead man walking sorta

There was a complete sense of nothingness, a lingering lack of everything but still not so harsh as to insight panic.

It was cool and at the same time it was warm; a comforting and familiar sense and yet still all it was, was a familiar nothing.

Then it began to fade, almost slowly, as if testing the tainted air, it eased downward and the morning light began to peep through in small rivulets.

All to quickly for comfort the shadows billowed and retreated back into their master and the senses of the remaining Titans became overloaded as the nothingness gave way to something almost equally nothing and yet so much something.

Raven stood nearly slouching over, bent tiredly, midnight locks flowing in the calm winds as she looked ahead of herself.

Beside her; much to her thanks and quick action, stood her allies, Cyborg crouched low to the ground with a thoroughly startled and shockingly green armadillo tucked into the crook of his shoulder, wide eyed and weary under the offending bright morning sunlight.

"Is everyone alright?" Raven's deep voice grated out tiredly as the cool wind blew ashen dust beside her and the smog settled in the distant skies as she surveyed her comrades with vague neutrality.

Beast boy dropped from Cyborg's large arm and promptly returned to his normal form, a small cut above his expressive brow.

Beast boy was by far a very expressive person, if one were to look closely, volumes of information could be read from a simple quirk of his usually broad smile. In a way he had the face of an angel, he could always draw a person out from the deepest and darkest of thoughts with so little as his pointy toothed grin.

Weather it be sadness or joy he was always on display and he always had something to say.

This time he did not.

Barley a mile away, yet perhaps farther still, the peeping sunlight had begun to wash over the city and lap further at the edges of the clouds and smog, the darkness, in compliance to their continued law and balance, abated and curled away ever so slowly.

She was becoming rather upset, more so by the second; she couldn't see through the darkness, nor through the rising smoke that spun upwards around her like dozens of coiled serpents.

There was some sort of a stricken noise, loud and fleshy yet thick and low, a small indistinguishable sound trilling outward in heightening gasps.

"ANSWER ME!"

That voice was the kind that would make you run as fast as you could, it was cold demanding and darker than the sightless clouds of ashen blackness that surrounded her; deep, deathly and one that allowed no retreat.

She did want to run.

There was that sound again, that sick crunching sound, followed quickly with a long trilling sound of splattering water and a copper stench.

"AAAuuuAAHcccK"

A wet, hoarse cry rang outward into the retreating night, thick and juicy.

She knew those sounds, oh hell she knew them unbelievably well.

It was the kind of stench and a thick screaming sound that sent horrid vibrations throughout her body, the kind that would wake her up at night in shock and maybe even tears.

It was a slathered call to arms and an all too familiar presence she could neither deny nor ignore.

He was sick, his voice gargled in blood and crackling into a long slurred drawl as the trill of crushing bone spilled across the blackened roads.

Who was screaming, who needed help, who needed HER?

She searched frantically through the receding darkness, groping around and willing the light to push its way forward just a little more.

"NOW!"

A terrifying voice, a stentorian roar that gave no reprieve, a devilish demand that hung in the air and seemed as if to echo into eternity.

It was Robin; there he stood holding onto a bloody and beaten Rancid with an iron grip and a refusal to let go.

The man had sustained many injuries, a broken jaw, and a twisted arm, bruised and broken sides and she did not like the look of the dark blood running down his forehead.

Why was Robin hitting him?

Just as Robin coiled his strong crimson arm back like the head of a serpent, fangs poised for the kill, she ran full force at him.

"ROBIN! What are you doing? This is not right!"

She held onto his blackened fist tightly and as he turned to look at her she wished she had run, she so wished she had run from that face.

Robin had dislocated his left shoulder and a small shard of metal had lodged itself into the joint causing it to spurt red with his quickened heartbeat and there was a long bloodied gash down the side of his cheek and left eye, dribbling blood through his wet and torn mask.

He had huge abrasions that marred the left side of his suited body and from the look of the angry red road burns they were extremely painful.

His face showed nothing as his deep blue eyes sparkled and glared with a feral and dangerous light in the morning sunshine.

He only gave her one emotion, the emotion of anger, he looked at her as if he would sooner have killed her than to spare her another glance, as if she meant nothing in the face of decision he was to make and his decision was murder; that Johnny had to die and that she would never know why and never have a say in the matter.

He looked at her as if she had no right to say anything, as if she had broken some unspoken taboo and she was beginning to believe so.

He was distant and his visible eye shown with only cruelty, a wild look vomiting out the hells that carved the unspeakable orbs.

Starfire could say nothing as he distantly stared at her, as if he had only just noticed she were there and for some reason it didn't matter.

"GET BACK!"

He screamed at her and with a forward lunge of his bloodied body, threw himself at Rancid to finish the job while she pulled him away with all the might she could muster, hands glowing like emerald spheres.

As Raven levitated the others within her black aura to follow Starfire's path and locate Robin, the sight they met was that of a bloody brawl as Robin lashed out at Starfire and punched her hard to fly three feet away, a blackish bloody smear on her right cheek left by his crimson ash stained hands.

Quickly and with a practice precision, Raven extended her dark shadows to softly catch her and lower the others to the ground.

Raven was surprised.

For over the many years of her life, Raven had found that only he could ever surprise her enough to unravel the stranglehold she had on her emotions in this manner.

"DUDE! What are you DOING!"

Beastboy practically screamed at Robin his tone high and garish, giving no quarter to the weary as Cyborg tried to calm Starfire who was on the verge of tears.

Robin paid him no mind, as if the boy had never spoken and turned back to Rancid, who despite his injuries had managed to stand, that same dark blood pooling slowly almost writhing around him.

Something about that mans blood made her stomach turn and her mind boil in excitement, old emotions stirring back to life.

She did not like that man's blood.

With little but a whim she enshrouded Robin's body in darkness and he made his protests known, his one visible eye seemed to have a life of it's own.

"Let me GO!"

He yelled loudly, blood spattering out from his open mouth, his lips wet with spit, he must have suffered internal injuries from his fight, he never showed weakness and with the ferocity of the escalating struggle and from yelling to screaming, commanding them for release even as his body began to fail; this must have been serious.

"STOP THIS-"

Robin never finished his sentence; slumping over into a coughing fit he ground his teeth together, almost fanged and thrashed like a wild animal.

He was scaring her.

Ragged and gasping for breath, Johnny Rancid stood on bent and shaking legs, slouched over as he vomited black blood onto the street as he fell forward onto his hands and knees, fingertips buried into the melted tar of the scarred road and spoke in a voice that was not his.

"There is no fooling you is there boy?"

With a rasp and a wheeze Rancid fell over onto his side, jaws oozing black and his body slopped almost lifelessly onto the burnt tar.

"THIS IS NOT OVER! LET ME GO!"

The others had seen Robin like this before, during the encounter with Slade and his chemical reagent, they only knew of one way to quell him.

As Robin continued to thrash and scream they tried desperately to hold him, to understand, but a single glance into that one showing eye spoke volumes of a being beyond words.

"Robin please, friend you must calm down!"

Starfire seemed near a breakdown and Raven was being forced to hold tighter and tighter onto Robins writhing form, if this continued Robin would create whole new injuries for himself and with what he had now, things were more than bad enough.

Raven winced and swore under her breath as she heard and felt the small resonance of crepitus waft into the morning air and thrumming within her shadows.

Cyborg walked cautiously around Robin's suspended form toward Rancid's still one, leaning down he checked the man for a pulse; there was nothing.

He looked to a metal compartment in his right arm and opened it, he hated doing this; it was underhanded and cowardly but necessary.

He had suspected that he would need it, due to Robins behavior he had been expecting something like this and as Robin, struggling like a madman; was lowered to the ground, he pulled out the small gun and aimed.

"I'm sorry man…"

Stance serious and voice a deadly calm he stepped forward.

The others had seemed to realize what was happening and ceased any further attempts to talk to Robin.

"You don't understand…"

For only a second, a single fragment in time; that one visible eye showed a brilliant flare of emotions so great that Raven nearly lost her grip.

It was a look of sorrow, a look of agony and age, a trickle of blood inching across his split lip and gashed face as he looked at them with an indescribable sense of loss and…fear.

Fear of what, they may never truly know.

A short puff of compressed air and the trank had found it's target, his gaze seemed almost betrayed for an instant but in mere moments it became a sharp scream of defiance and anger and quickly it faded with whatever was left of his senses.

Images and sound blurred in front of him as the world began a sloppy spin and soon enough ceased to be.

Raven cautiously lowered him to the ground, her emotions gripped in an iron vice, crazed and leaping about at the almost pathetic look of their bedraggled leader and friend.

His side bled freely and in the absence of her aura, he came to lay on the gouged out pavement in a black-cloaked heap, groaning and spitting blood.

Starfire flew to him like a woman possessed and Beastboy bounded up to him, stopping at what could be considered a safe distance.

Cyborg walked towards them, a bloodied and beaten Rancid in tow, hung lifelessly over his shoulder as Starfire lifted Robin to lie in her arms.

The sun was fully risen by the time they had left, the abandoned alleyway was marred, gouged and strewn with blood and metal, a garish scene to test ones constitution; the asphalt riddled with potholes, scares and small scraps of flesh.

Questions and fear could wait; they had injured to tend to.

As they left, the single, lonely old light pole, bulb shattered, teetered to one side and fell over to crash hard upon the unforgiving pavement, trash blew in the wind and broken bottles and warped metal shimmered in the sunlight; a perverse sense of disturbed normalcy, smoke thick in the air and an acrid taste of bloody copper to lay on the tongue.

It was cold, all the windows were always kept tightly closed in this section of the infirmary…

The walls were as dark as the night sky outside them and the tile was a sterile gray, icy to the touch and slick with polish and industrial strength cleanser. There on one of the squat metal tables in the room, stained a sick yellow underneath a large lamp and covered by a light white sheet lay the remains of Johnny Rancid.

In life Johnny had been a lively creature, not a bright man but very active; nothing like the covered doll corpse that now lay on the table. Beneath the thin linen sheets, Rancid more than lived up to his name; the pronounced curve of his jaw seemed to be peeling back at the flesh, his once rugged face pulled tight and sagging with an inexplicable rot exposing the frame of the skull and jaw and loose broken teeth. Flesh turned black and viscous, the corpse seemed as if to be melting away, bones bowed and corroded into brittle crackled and inky spiderwebs.

The lights flickered angrily and the room reeked of the dead as black blood coagulated into an ugly charcoal and clotted burgundy, spilling over the side of the table like tendrils.

The oil black moved like tendrils too, sweeping side to side like a blind man's hands, a heaving ooze leaving a dappling of curdled ebony sludge in its wake as, slowly, all of the corpse had congealed and collapsed onto the floor and slowly it slunk away into the shadows.

"…"

When he first opened his eyes he did not know whether to smolder in an impotent rage or marvel at the friends and fighters who'd had the guts to take him on; he'd trained them well.

Robin felt around at the edges of the thick leather straps that held him down to the infirmary bed as he gazed upwards into the concerned eyes of one of his friends; a vantage point that Slade had made him very used to by now.

Cyborg looked down at him almost in disgust but held back the roil of rage beneath what was left of his flesh.

"Wanna explain what just happened?"

"The language of pain…"

"No more games Robin."

"When you saw me… I had a friend in my former life, he loved things like that, always had candles lit always singing old hymnsweird guy… he died hmmmm, maybe six years ago to this day."

Starfire's emerald eyes relented as she leaned back into the air, her arms crossed as she looked to Cyborg with the forlorn smile of someone who knew this little doge routine all too well. She didn't bother to question their little side conversation, though naturally curious, she'd learned a long time ago that some things were either pointless or silly when it came down to it.

The mysticism was just scars in the night and the atmosphere a prayer to an old friend. Well, that explained the bathroom scenario but it did nothing for their current situation.

"Your eyes-"

That got her attention, Starfire had often wondered about her friends face and just as much so; his eyes.

" You actually thought I was blind?" Robin seemed as if to laugh a little at that, for all appearances he was as amicable as a bar buddy.

"That much hemlock, even for me, is hell on the eyes."

"You're avoiding the question."

"You seem happy enough to entertain it."

Cyborg huffed and crossed his arms, shifting his weight to the other foot as he continued to stare down his leader.

As if by the will of angry gods, Raven ambled into the room a picture of worrisome rage and swiftly walked up to Robin, stared at him as if she was debating something with herself and then resolutely slapped him across the face.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She was angry and from the twist of the shadows at the hem of their perception; hurt as well.

"They're my shadows…not yours"

"So you knew."

"How could I not?"

Cyborg stood quiet as they talked, questions bubbling as they bantered until finally it became too much. He was practically the second in command but for the past day and a half now he had little to no idea of the happenings in their tower let alone whatever machinations had seeded themselves into his own leader; he was completely in the dark!

"What the hell is going on!"

""

The scream was a loud long crackled trill that could only belong to one person…

"Beastboy!"

They looked to each others all four of them yelled to one another, Cyborg took the lead, charging down the halls as Starfire looked back and foforth between Robin and Cyborg as Raven worked madly at the restraints that held their leader down to the infirmary bed giving her a placating look that let arfire know it was safe to go with Cyborg.

Quickly rounding a third corner in the halls outside the medical ward Cyborg screeched to a halt as he turned to face his friend.

"Beastboy! What happened? We heard a scream and-"

To say Beastboy looked odd would be an understatement, his eyes were beady, drawn and listless, dark lines etched out from them like black tendrils. He seemed as though a lifeless doll, head tilted lightly to the side like a hanged man and his body seemingly wound too tight like taffy pulled too far.

"I didn't hear anything…"

His voice was the familiar chirp that Cyborg had come to love over the many years he'd worked with him but the body was just wrong… the eyes… the eyes were a sin on his face.

The creature reached out to touch him and he instantly recoiled, disgusted by the thing.

"Don't touch it!"

Raven raced down the hall with Robin just behind her, his bo staff extended as he lept in front of Cyborg and skewered the creature. The wound, comparatively small, seemed as if to explode into black gore as "Beastboy" split in half down the middle of the hole in his chest and opened into a black maw of angry whipping tongues and teeth, the unearthly screams and angry screeching seethings a song of torment.

The cracked doll that was Beastboy now split nearly end to end into an ugly oozing rageful smile of slimy fangs and reaching black slicked tendrils, the flesh a blackened goop of black bleeding broken meat and bone and mess.

"JESUS CHRIST!"

Cyborg screamed in shock as the disgusting demon broke the bo staff clean in half with it's tongues and then into a dozen shards and pieces, tossing the remains; ooze laden spit slicked and scarred, back at them as it screamed and writhed.

Robin, thrown back by the force of the angry thing, crashed into a wall as it writhed toward him on spindly twisted "legs", remnants of its botched disguise, giant jaws flapping and biting and tongue and tendril and "appendages" all reaching straight for him.

With a great roar a giant green rhino rammed straight into the horrid thing, and a blast of jade fire lit into it's side sending it flying into the adjacent wall with a blood-curdling splat as it stuck to the corridor and smeared along it like a wad of chewed tobacco and gum. Black and twisted and oozing gurgling black blood and flesh, it congealed into a great black beast with innumerable fang tooth maws and tongues, dozens of black clawed appendages clutching the wall to hold it in place as "blood-shot" burning white eyes formed along the black spined knotted up surface that could be called its back.

With a spit slicked screech it turned and slithered around the corridor quick as lightning.

"…what…_the fuck_…was that?"

Raven, tending to a dazed Robin, turned to meet the questioning gazes of her friends.

"It's called a Beal'Naza, a black… thing that stalks the nether… sometimes… when a "sensitive" comes in contact with a person who is in sever pain, small ones come through... It must have used my power as an empath and…demon spawn… to come through."

She seemed disgusted with herself as she recanted her knowledge.

"The Beal'Naza are…indescribable creatures… it must have invaded Robins nightmares to gain access to the doorways my power creates."

"Well then why would robin hide it?"

"Because this creature is saturated with Robins emotions and memories, shaped by them, anyone who comes in contact with it may gain access to extremely personal information."

Everyone turned to Beastboy as Robin eyed him with a cool yet distantly concussed gaze.

"Hey! I ain't seen nothing! I was just walking down the hall to get something to eat and then BAM giant ugly thingy!"

"That doesn't matter now." Robin said. "We need to find this thing and kill it."

"It's not that easy Robin…."

He looked at her, expression angry but distant, as if trying desperately to collect the tattered remains of his control on his life.

"Beal'Naza incite pain as much as they feed on it, you've already seen the effects..."

Anger and hate seething from a cold cut diamond eye hidden behind a mask on the face of someone they loved so dearly; yes they had indeed seen what it could do.

"We must destroy this evil but how?" Starfire's eyes twinkled with worry as she turned to her robed friend. "Surely there must be a way..."

"It's weak but... that won't last forever." She shuddered at the memory of the black slinking demon, of it's teeth and jaws. "We have to kill it while we have daylight, anything born of any kind of light will burn it but if night falls we'll never find it in the dark; it's made of dark."

She eyed them, the mid-noon sun blazing in from the windows of the common room beyond the hall. "Open all blinds, turn on all the lights and institute lock down. It will try to pick us off one by one, it will stick to the shadows."

Beastboy gulped as he eyed Robin carefully. "So- no offense bro- but if Robin goes cuckoo again whatta we do?"

Raven nodded her head to acknowledge him. " Dart him again-" Robin turned wide eyes to her with an offended look across his features, clearly not liking the idea as Raven countered him with arms crossed and a serious stance. "Like it or not that thing will try to feed off of you, it will do everything in it's power to make you hate and it has quite an arsenal..."

"So we gotta kill this thing but we can't touch it."

"Not without...unpleasant sideffects..."


	5. irony in vanity

"So... what do we do?"

Raven looked to Cyborg with a grim smile.

"We kill it before nightfall; burn it, trap it in a room without shadows for it to hide in and watch the sun rise, douse it in-"

There was a resonant hum in the air followed by a whirring and a low slowing rumble accompanied by near total darkness save for the lamenting glow of keyboards and peeping sunlight through curtains.

"What the-"

"The generators, it's playing its hands now; time to hurry."

"I shall open the blinds!" Jade fire erupted in her hands as Starfire flew to the windows, opening them as quickly as she could, the darkness at her heels.

Sunlight streamed through like white wine through the curtains as Cyborg moved to man the computer consols. "I've got all possible security on the backup generators there's no way it can get to them-"

"For now."

He eyed Raven as he worked, the backup power humming to life and filling the room with dim emergency lighting, a beaming flashlight mounted on his shoulder. "there, it'll stay up, lockdown in 30 seconds and I packed extra darts." Robin gave him a displeased yet ironic and understanding gaze as he turned in the hall to enter his training dojo, picking up a spare bo.

"Shall we?"

It was dark in the base on lockdown, too dark, unnaturally scary really friggin dark. Beastboy muttered to himself as he slithered across the floor, a small green boa at the feet of his partner; Raven. She sensed his unease, kneeling down to lay a hand on her friends scaled head. "Don't worry, I can sense dark creatures when I know to look for them." It was a small comfort but he would be hard pressed not to take it. They traversed the corridors quiet as they could, straight across the smaller common rooms and a set of bedchambers up the stairs to the medi-lab where the imitated corpse of Johnny Rancid had been placed. Beastboy hated the medi-labs even on a good day and today was not a good day!

Sharp metal tings rained out as two figures padded down the final set of steel stairs, followed by a floating figure shrouded in green fire. "Friends, I do not like this darkness." Starfire swung the fire at her hands making sweeping veils of green light in the blackness. "See anything Robin?" He turned to look at Cyborg with angry eyes hidden behind white optic disks. "Nothing..."

"Aw c'mon!" Cyborg rushed to the tattered remains of what was once a machine he had polished with pride. The generator had suffered dearly, exposed wires a tangled nest of frayed copper and the metal casings clawed beyond recognition, its innards strewn across the room. "Aw dude no- ma baby!"

"Is it salvageable?"

He kissed the torn open sides of the machine and tossed away the scrap as he dug his hands into it. "I dunno man, this is not good."

With a high-pitched creak Raven pushed aside the metal doors to the medi-lab, leaving the last rays of window light and immediately her hands flew to shield her nose. It was the most disgusting offense to her senses that she had ever encountered and that was saying something. The stench burned her nose and throat and made her eyes tear up as she turned a spotlight onto the dimly lit steel exam tables.

"...Not cool..." Beastboy shifted back into his more-so human form as he too shielded himself from the smell and surveyed the damage. The bolted down steel tables had been over-turned like playthings, great long gashes shorn into them and ugly black ooze gooped along the floor. The room seemed brutalized, congealing masses of inky dark like scabrous blood in sinew strands hung like ribbons. The tools were a mess, the equipment in shambles and a messy trail of sludge wound its way into a bent and broken ventilation shaft... well that explained it's miraculous escape.

Beastboy backed out of the room slowly, with an overwhelming sense of dread and anger crawling up his spine. "I don't like this..."

"Neither do I." Said Raven quietly as she followed him. Beastboy looked to the bloodied clock on the wall; it all seemed like something out of a horror movie... 5:00 pm. He silently lamented his position, if not for this... thing, he would be on the couch playing video games or eating dinner or even stop for an evening tan- that's when it hit him; tan!

"I have an idea."

Raven looked at him with an unemotional stare but he took lead none the less, a left turn down the hall through the corridors she followed a small green glowing lightning bug, flashes of amber light a beacon in the dark.

Anger, it seemed to crawl under his skin like old memories; he'd suffered enough of them already. Robin shifted uncomfortably as he stood beside Starfire and watched Cyborg work, his hands itching to clutch his bo staff; it was a light weight training model unsuited for combat but it would have to do. The light from outside was wan and the shadows seemed to taunt him, it irked him to no end as he surveyed them one by one for the slightest hint of wrongness; there were to many of them and the sting of fear began to climb up his back.

"It's shot, all of it-" With a resolute slam Cyborg swung shut what was left of a dented and disheveled access panel, the broken metal snapping off it's hinges and falling to the floor. "It's toast." Cyborg let out a low sigh as he shrugged with good humor. "At least we still have the-" A loud dyeing hum followed by total darkness..."...backup generator.. This is just wrong." Robin was keen to agree with him on that. "Where were the backup generators? Were they anywhere near hear?" Catching on quick, cyborg brightened the light on his shoulder and dug into the nearby computer consoles that littered the control room, alighting them with his own internal power systems. "I don't get it, it's not mechanical, diagnostics says the system is too low on power...that freak is eating my power cores!" Cyborg quickly disconnected himself from the network as a static buzz sang out from his com; "Get to beastboy's room, we have a plan; and bring Robin." It was curt and clean across the com line as Cyborg turned to grab to grab an angry Robin by the shoulders. "So, just how smart do you think this thing is hm?" Boy wonder didn't seem up to answering, just brooding, but what else was new. He sighed, gently nudging his friend and leader at the back and pushed on.

"Your'e certain this will work?"

"Hey, it hates light right?"

"..."

Beastboy sat cross legged atop a long metal rectangular contraption, it's control panal sticky with tanning oil and a smug look on his face by the glow of a lantern.

"...what?...you can never be too careful Rae."

Step by step the three climbed the metal stairway out of the basement, the darkness seemed as if to writhe around them and every sound seemed an explosion in the choking quiet. They rounded the door, Cyborg swinging his light from side to side and closing it behind them; they could almost feel ugly red eyes watching them.

"Where is it? Is it avoiding us?"

"Possibly, it was practically dead before...but how is it getting around?" Robins brows creased in thought, sweat stinging his eyes through the mask as he ground his teeth. "I hate this..."

Just as the three turned to continue, a loud clang and crash rang out as an unnaturally rusted and ooze laden grate fell from the ceiling and onto the floor with a thick plop. "That explains it." Long, thin tendrils seeped out of the air shaft, black slick tentacles whipping about as it landed on the floor all dark mud and teeth. A few of it's worm-like appendages caught the radiant orange of sunset cast in from the windows, the inky black hissing and popping, boiling as it screeched and lunged.

Robin dodged to the side and readied his bo staff to retaliate as Cyborg grabbed him and with a blast of emerald they ran full tilt to the Beastboys room. The black creature writhed and hissed, jumping from one shadow to the next, the waning hours of sunlight trickling into a dim haze through the bay windows of the common room. They bounded through the narrow halls, passed the study and across the computer lab, straight through the connecting halls from the kitchen and into Beastboys bedroom a seething Robing in hand. Just as Starfire crossed the threshold, she turned and with all her might she slammed the steel doors shut and not a moment too soon as the creature ran straight into the barricade. "What's the plan?" Cyborg let go of Robin and turned his attention to securing the door with Starfire, the enraged creature behind it ramming into the slab of steel with every ounce of rage as it screamed and writhed, small black tendrils reaching out into the cracks and particians popping the bolts clean off.

"Back here!" Robin followed Beastboys voice to find him standing beside a long metal box; like a coffin it opened at the top and in his confusion he turned to his green friend only to find his feet stuck to the ground.

"What's going on!"

Beastboy stepped toward him with a lopsided smile that seemed as forced as it was fake.

"What kinda name is Robin anyway?"

Robin could literally feell his insides snapping; they were being hunted by a demon of his own mind, his personal life all but screaming for exposure, a wraith stalking his every footstep with nightmares and memories and twisting unnatural hate out from his very innards and Beastboy chose **now** to make fun of him! From the look on his face, practically everyone could have heard that final nerve buckle and that last delicate strand of silk twang as a visage of complete and utter rage clawed for purchase on Robins masked face.

The door collapsed inward and threw Cyborg and Starfire to the side as the black abomination flung itself forward straight at Robin, careening across the room, the promise of such a meal too much temptation to allow it's scheming. Purple black light enveloped Robin and forced him to the ground as the black thing went soaring through the air and straight into the strange metal box, it's lid falling closed with a crash, black magic holding it in place. Beastboy rushed over, nearly tripping over himself in the dark of sunset and slapping his hands down across the control panel. What followed was brief and as explosive as it was a disgusting insult to the ears. There was a short flash of light followed by the sparks and whirrs of a machine shorting out as the creature, trapped in the box of light, screamed and cried. The wailing was loud long and sharp, a deafening chorus of screeching shrieking death; claws on metal and nails on a blackboard paled in comparison; an indescribable painful debacle of audible death that faded into nothingness.

"Phew!" Beastboy slid down the side of the wall as his friends collected themselves and blankets of purple black peeled away to reveal a slightly dizzied Robin. "What was that?" Robin put a hand to his forehead and took the liberty of a lean against the wall with Beastboy, the earlier insult no longer an angry burn in his belly. "I don't believe it..." Cyborg walked closer to the metal box as the familiar dim orange of the auxiliary lights jolted back to life. "A tanning bed?" Cyborg eyed him with a mix of disbelieff and humor as Beastboy patted the metal box; a sleek silver tanning bed. "What? You think I look this good with no effort? Psssh." With that said he flippantly tossed his hair back, jumping as ash grey ooze squirted from the seems of the now very broken bed. "But the power's out."

Beastboy swaggered to the side and lightly kicked a small box; a portable generator, it's systems still running despite the damage. "You can never be too-"

"We know."

"You-" He pointed curtly to Robin."-owe me a tanning bed." Robin smiled at him as the green fellow walked away; it had been quite an evening and worry still ate at his mind but relative ease had been hard won and he was more than willing to accept it. He repeled off of the wall into a standing position, stalking off to his own bedchambers, exhaustion creeping into his form; he only hoped for a quiet night. He spared a glance in beastboys direction, worry on his features as a great amethyst vine whipped him lightly across the shoulders, startling him. "Stop it." She walked off quietly, a slight hover as she head toward the light of the windows... were it so easy he thought.


	6. a matter of the times

(A/N: Epilogue.)

Over the next few days, thanks to Cyborgs skill, full power had been restored to the tower and for a few days longer no one would turn out the lights. It was a habit that Beastboy was none too pressed to break as he lay on the couch. They had just returned from another mission, the real Johnny had been tearing up down town with his usual, more or less unstructured, mayhem; a perfect fit to his MO. Beastboy sighed to himself as he watched the sunrise, unable to sleep and unwilling to think. Every time he closed his eyes all he could see was a tall tan skinned man, his head shaved and body covered in tattoos. The man was lanky and had a smile that was as warm as it was large, criss-crossed scars of a thin almost checkerboard net-like design along his back and legs. He wore simple black trousers with a simple white shirt, both adorned in bolts of shock yellow lightning and though Beastboy had never seen this man he was as familiar as a dear childhood friend. He new everything about him from the very first glance; that the scars came from the mans fondness for high-flying acrobatics that would usually land him in a large wiry safety net. That he adored old spiritual traditions, said they kept the dead alive; that he would swear by cinnamon as a cure for even the worst headaches and basil leafs in dreamcatchers to keep away the storms. Every time Beastboy closed his eyes he would see that friendly face and hear that same joking remark: "So why a robin hmmmm?" and every time he closed his eyes he would feel a pang of regret as he knew the kind young jokester to be dead and the image faded that much further away.

Beastboy sighed and fell back to sleep under the emotionless eyes of his leader who came forward to sit beside him on he floor at the foot of the couch and drift off into a peaceful nap.

What a week.


End file.
